Airplane



244. AERONAUTIGS April 29 w24 mgzus W. W. BRADFORD, JR

AIRPLANE Filed Sepz. 19. 1921 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 244. AllHUNAU I IU Patented Apr. 29, 1924.

UNITED STATES WILLIAM WILLS BRADFORD, JR., OF BEL AIR, MARYLAND.

AIRPLAN E.

Application led September 19, 1921. Serial No. 501,621.

To all whom it may concern.'

Be it known that I, WILLIAM WV. BRAD- FORD, Jr., a citizen of the United States, residing at Bel Air, in the county of Harford and State of Maryland, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Airplanes, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates t0 improvements in airplanes and particularly to the wing construction whereby ample lifting power is provided with short lateral spread of the wings. The main purpose of the invention is to provide an airplane with such short lateral spread to the wings that the plane may be landed or started on highways or in other places where obstructions would prevent landing or taking ofi' of planes of the ordinary type having a wide wing spread.

In carrying out the invention. I provide wings for the plane composed of a plurality of frames pivotally mounted at the sides of the body, each frame carrying a plurality of relatively short and narrow blades, the latter preferably arranged in a plurality of superposed rows extending longitudinally of the machine, and connections between the frames whereby the operator may rock the frames in unison, to change the angle of the blades with respect to the direction of movement of the plane. The aggregate area of the surfaces of the blades is large; because of the number and arrangement of the blades, and the plane has strong lifting power without wide lateral spread of the wings because of the shortnessof the blades.

In the accompanying drawing,

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of an Iairplane fitted with my improvements;

Fig. 2 is a side view of one of the wings;

Fig. 3 is a central vertical section through one of the wings, a part of the body being shown in section;

Fig. 4t is a top plan view of the plane;

Fig. 5 is a top plan View of one of the wings, partly broken away and partly in section, part of the body being also shown in section; and,

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of a part of one of the wing frames.

Referring to the drawing, A represents the body of an airplane, which may be of any desired form and provided with the usual propelling, steering and landing means. Extending around the body, in a horizontal plane, is a stay rod l, suitably secured to the ends of the body and having parts 1a which extend parallel with the sides of the body. The parts 1a are spaced from the body by brace rods 2, and upon these rods are sleeves 3, which carry openwork frames B in each of which are arranged a plurality of relatively short and narrow blades 4. The sleeves 3 are provided with levers 5, within the body of the plane, which levers are pivotally connected to the rods 6, extending lengthwise 0f the plane, by means of which the operator may rock the frames on each side of the plane in unison to change the angle of the blades with respect to the direction of movement of the plane.

The frames B are cubical in form, each frame having rectangular end pieces b provided with diagonal braces 7 and between the upright bars 8 of the end pieces are arranged a plurality of rods 9 which extend parallel with one another and with the top and bottom bars 10 of the end pieces.

The blades 4 are suitably secured at their ends to the rods 9 and lie in planes sulstantially parallel with said rods. The blades may be flat or slightly arched in cross section, and they may be set at a slight angle to the planes of the rods 9 on which .they are supported. The blades are arranged in rows, one above the other, the rows, as well as the blades in each row, being suitably spaced apart to allow the air to flo-w between them. In the drawing, six rows of blades are shown in each wing, but the number of rows and the number of blades in a row may be varied as desired. This arrangement of a large number of relatively short and narrow blades provides a large surface area without the necessity of wide lateral wing spread which is common to airplanes. Hence, the plane may land or take oil from roadways or other places where obstructions would interfere with the landing or starting of the ordinary plane.

The wings composed of relatively short and narrow blades in superposed rows may be variously arranged. I have shown these in a plurality of rocking frames connected so that the frames may be rocked in unison, and that is the preferred arrangement, but I do not confine myself thereto.

What I claim is:

1. In an airplane, a body, a plurality of frames pivotally mounted at opposite sides of the body in rows extending` longitudinally of the body, a plurality of relatively short and narrow blades spaced apart longitudinally of the body in each frame, and means for rocking the frames of each row in unison.

2. In an airplane, a body, a plurality of frames pivotally mounted at opposite sides of the body in rows extending longitudinally of the body, a plurality of relatively short and narrow blades in each frame, the blades in each frame being arranged in a plurality of superposed rows extending longitudinally of the body, and means for rocking the frames in each row of frames in 16 unison.

3. In an airplane, a body, a. stay rod eX- tending along the sides of the body and spaced therefrom, brace rods extending between the stay rod and body and spaced 20 means for rocking said frames simultane- 25 ously.

In testimony whereof I aiiix my signature.

WILLIAM WILLS BRADFORD, Jr. 

